The objective of this report is to provide knowledge to newly assigned teachers and future teachers in the URI Education Program about Hugh B. Bain Middle School. Hugh B. Bain Middle School is a middle school, currently serving 7th and 8th graders, located in Cranston, Rhode Island. It was originally established as a high school to serve students in Cranston, but was eventually converted to a junior high school, the first of its kind in the city. In 1995, the school district of Cranston "adopted the middle school concept" and turned Bain into a middle school, enrolling sixth grade students (DiPrete, et al., 2001). This report will analyze the community surroundingBain Middle School, its school district and compare this data to equal statistics for the entire state of Rhode Island. This report will include statistics examining the school's rankings according to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), as well as according to surveys conducted by School Accountability for Learning and Teaching (SALT), in which 190 full and partial classes were observed and 14 students were followed around the school hours for a full day in order to understand the interactions between teachers and students of Bain. Principal Thomas Barbieri has called Bain "a GREAT place," and believes that Bain can become the "model middle school for the state of Rhode Island" (Bain Middle School, 2008).
Community Background
The community surrounding Bain Middle School is one of the most populated areas in the state of Rhode Island. According to the 2006 U.S. Census Bureau report, Cranston is home to 80,463 people, compared to Rhode Island's estimated total population of 1,057,832 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). This community is also one of the most diverse areas in the state, composed of many different ethnic groups and this is shown in the school's enrollment statistics. Seventy-three percent of the entire student body at Bain is white; 11% is Hispanic, 9% is Asian, and 6% is black. Bain has a high rate of special education students, which comprise 31% of the school's enrollment, considering the state's average is 17.6% Of the students at Bain, 6% are enrolled in the school's English as a Second Language program (ESL), compared to the state's average of 3.6%,of which the predominant ethnic group is of Cambodian descent. 40% of students are eligible for free/reduced-price lunches (DiPrete, et. al, 2001). The disparity of races at Bain Middle School is an excellent representation of the city at-large.
The surrounding community of Cranston is also pretty varied with regards to education and income. Cranston is a relatively medium income city in Rhode Island that lives just below the average household income for the state.It's median household income ($51,227) and medium family income ($64,539) are just below the state average (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). The city's per capita income ($25,039) is also just below the state average ($25,627) although Rhode Island's average per capita income is slightly higher than the national average (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). Oddly enough, the percentage of people, 16 years and older, who are employed, 59.6%, is well below the national average of 65% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). The city of Cranston has a much lower poverty level (5.5%), than the state's average (11.1%), which means that less money goes to help children of these families in the school systems. Compared to the rest of the country, Cranston has a very adequately educated community (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). Of its residents, 25 years and older, 83.3% had graduated and received a high school diploma, compared to the country's rate of 84%. Of residents, 25 years and older, 29.1% have received a bachelor's degree or higher (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006).
Cranston is one of Rhode Island's more dangerous cities in terms of crime. In 2006, of cities with at least 5,000 people, Cranston had the 7th highest number of violent crimes in the state, with 158 (IDCide, 2006). The property crime rate in Cranston is the 3rd highest in the state, with 2,317 property crimes (IDCide, 2006). According to the SALT report's "Safe and Supportive Schools: Students' Point of View," 23% of students said they were robbed at least once while at school and 9% had someone try to sell them drugs at least once at school (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2006-2007).
Bain's community seems to be very involved in its schools. 40% of parents participated in SALT's "Engaging Families and Communities" survey (NCPESP, 2006-2007). Nearly 85% of parents believed that their communities supports Bain Middle School. As a result of this support, only 55% of parents feel that their involvement in school governance is vital (NCPESP, 2006-2007). Nearly 81% of teachers feel that members of their team maintain "positive relationships with students' parents" and nearly 85% believe that "two-way communication between home and school is essential to effective education." However, only 50% of parents felt that teachers responded timely to their requests to meet (NCPESP, 2006-2007).
District Summary
The district of Cranston contains 10,527 students, grades pre-school to 12th grade (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006).The entire district has a very diverse community background; 77% of students are white; 12% are Hispanic; 7% are Asian; and 4% are African-American, which is a pretty accurate depiction of the city as a whole (NCPESP, 2006-2007). Five percent of the district's students receive English as a Second Language assistance (NCPESP, 2006-2007). Twelve percent of the district's population receives special education services, while another 6% are located in self-contained classrooms (NCPESP, 2006-2007).
The district spends a total of $130,808,502 on education in 2006. $87.5 million came from local government, totaling nearly 67% of the entire money spent, while $35.7 million came from the state (27%) and $8.2 million was federally funded money (6%). The districts spends approximately $12,426 per student in the district, which is slightly below the state average of $12,700. Of this $12,426, $7,698 is spent on student instruction; $1,795 is spent on student support; $2,135 is spent on student operations, and $798 is spent on student leadership programs. Cranston spends more money on general education programs ($9,347) to support 10,527 students, than the state's average of $9,220. Cranston spends far less money than the state in regards to Title 1, $536 for the state of Rhode Island compared to only $172 for the district of Cranston. It also spends less money on special education ($15,400) in comparison to the state's average ($16,382), despite the fact that the district serves a disproportionately high number of special education students at 1,913 students. Less money is also spent in career and technical education for the district ($3,924), in comparison to the state's average ($4,249). The district does however, spend more money on English Language Learners, $11,250, compared to the state's average of $7,931. Cranston has an above average teacher to student ratio of 1:9 compared to the state's average of 1:10 because the city employs 1,083, a high number compared to other districts in the state.
The district also offers many sports, intramurals and clubs, including baseball, basketball, bowling, cheerleading, cross-country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball and wrestling (Activity Advisers, 2006-2007). Bain Middle School, however, does not offer bowling, golf, swimming, football, tennis or volleyball (Bain Middle School, 2008).
School Analysis
Hugh B. Bain Middle School was founded in 1930, originally as a junior high school, enrolling seventh, eighth and ninth graders.It was the first junior high school in the city of Cranston (DiPrete, et. al, 2001). In 1995, the school district adopted the middle school model and began enrolling sixth graders and moved ninth graders, primarily to Cranston High School East (DiPrete, et. al, 2001). Located on Gansett Avenue in Cranston, Bain is one of three middle schools currently in the district, the other two being Western Hills Middle School and Park View Middle School (DiPrete, et. al, 2001). The district is suffering severely from poor allocation of funds and the students are going to be taking the brunt of this soon. Due to funding problems in a district that lost nearly $7 million in one fiscal year, sixth graders were removed from Bain and now the school currently serves seventh and eighth graders only. The 2001 SALT survey of Bain Middle School painted a very accurate depiction of the school's daily life, "There are many noteworthy activities in place at the school for both students and the community. They are listed in the school's 'Programs of Distinction' booklet. Several of these include The Bain Center and 21st Century Community Learning, Project Respect, the Enrichment Program, Bain Student Planning Center, Homework Club, and Channel 88 broadcasting. Students are also involved in varsity sports and after school intramurals. Bain has the largest intramural program in the city of Cranston (DiPrete, et. al, 2001). Bain currently has 701 students enrolled and 77 employed faculty members (NCPESP, 2007-2008).
According to the most recent NECAP testing, Bain Middle School is considered a "high performing" school because it met all 27 of its No Child Left Behind markers (2007-2008). The school excelled greatly in the English Language Arts section of the test, especially within the Hispanic community and students who are considered "economically disadvantaged" (NCPESP, 2007-2008). The school had a 99.9% participation rate in the Mathematics section of the test and a 99.6% participation rate in the English Language Arts section, well above the necessary 95% threshold (NCPESP, 2007-2008). Bain also well surpassed the 90% mandatory attendance rate with an impressive 93.3% attendance rate (NCPESP, 2006-2007). In the 2006-2007 testing, Bain had been considered a "high performing with caution" because they had missed one marker in a math sub-category (NCPESP, 2006-2007). Bain's principal Thomas Barbieri made this a focal point for students and teachers and his goal has since been to have the school receive a Regents' Commendation for its vast improvement.
According to the most recent RIDE report, Bain's 8th graders are equally or more proficient in all areas of testing: math, reading, and writing, in comparison to the rest of the state. Nearly 35% of 8th graders are proficient in math, 60% are proficient in reading and 45% are proficient in writing (NCPESP, 2007-2008). The attendance rate at Bain is 93%, just slightly below the state's average of 94% and time spent out of school, 7% is also just slightly above the state's average for middle schools, 6% (NCPESP, 2007-2008).
SALT performs surveys that include questions for both teachers and parents. But, they also survey students because, in reality, there responses are the most important. The survey consists of 9 markers and are rated on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. Students at Bain rate the school's overall climate as a 3.5 and rate teacher support at 3.5 (SALT, 2008). Students rate the clarity of rules and discipline as a 4.3 and believe they show commitment in their work to be a respectable 3.7 (SALT, 2008). Positive student relationships taking place were rated a 3.8 and negative student relationships were rated a 2.8 (SALT, 2008). Discipline is valued greatly at Bain and was rated by students as a 3.6, while teacher innovation and creativity was given a 3.3 (SALT, 2008). The overall general quality of the school was rated a 3.2 by students, which considering its urban community and background is very respectable (SALT, 2008).
Conclusion
For URI student teachers or recently graduated students who are looking to become new teachers in Rhode Island, these context reports should be excellent tools for determining the atmosphere of the school's they are considering working at. Hugh B. Bain Middle School is a school that, despite the lack of funding, has continually increased in the eyes of the No Child Left Behind program and has reached "high performing" status. Principal Barbieri's goal for Bain Middle School was to become a "high performing" school and achieve Regents' Commendation; thus far, they are half way there. According to findings of the 2001 SALT report, "Over the last several years a sense of instability and unease has come with changes of the administration of Bain School. The present administrative team has set a new tone for the school. This team works with teacher leaders to improve school climate, instructional practices, and student discipline and participation. The new principal encourages the faculty to have a sharp focus on teaching and learning (DiPrete, et. al, 2001). This report hopefully does an accurate job of portraying this same sentiment.
Hugh B. Bain Middle School
Introduction
The objective of this report is to provide knowledge to newly assigned teachers and future teachers in the URI Education Program about Hugh B. Bain Middle School. Hugh B. Bain Middle School is a middle school, currently serving 7th and 8th graders, located in Cranston, Rhode Island. It was originally established as a high school to serve students in Cranston, but was eventually converted to a junior high school, the first of its kind in the city. In 1995, the school district of Cranston "adopted the middle school concept" and turned Bain into a middle school, enrolling sixth grade students (DiPrete, et al., 2001). This report will analyze the community surrounding Bain Middle School, its school district and compare this data to equal statistics for the entire state of Rhode Island. This report will include statistics examining the school's rankings according to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), as well as according to surveys conducted by School Accountability for Learning and Teaching (SALT), in which 190 full and partial classes were observed and 14 students were followed around the school hours for a full day in order to understand the interactions between teachers and students of Bain. Principal Thomas Barbieri has called Bain "a GREAT place," and believes that Bain can become the "model middle school for the state of Rhode Island" (Bain Middle School, 2008).Community Background
The community surrounding Bain Middle School is one of the most populated areas in the state of Rhode Island. According to the 2006 U.S. Census Bureau report, Cranston is home to 80,463 people, compared to Rhode Island's estimated total population of 1,057,832 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). This community is also one of the most diverse areas in the state, composed of many different ethnic groups and this is shown in the school's enrollment statistics. Seventy-three percent of the entire student body at Bain is white; 11% is Hispanic, 9% is Asian, and 6% is black. Bain has a high rate of special education students, which comprise 31% of the school's enrollment, considering the state's average is 17.6% Of the students at Bain, 6% are enrolled in the school's English as a Second Language program (ESL), compared to the state's average of 3.6%, of which the predominant ethnic group is of Cambodian descent. 40% of students are eligible for free/reduced-price lunches (DiPrete, et. al, 2001). The disparity of races at Bain Middle School is an excellent representation of the city at-large.The surrounding community of Cranston is also pretty varied with regards to education and income. Cranston is a relatively medium income city in Rhode Island that lives just below the average household income for the state. It's median household income ($51,227) and medium family income ($64,539) are just below the state average (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). The city's per capita income ($25,039) is also just below the state average ($25,627) although Rhode Island's average per capita income is slightly higher than the national average (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). Oddly enough, the percentage of people, 16 years and older, who are employed, 59.6%, is well below the national average of 65% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). The city of Cranston has a much lower poverty level (5.5%), than the state's average (11.1%), which means that less money goes to help children of these families in the school systems. Compared to the rest of the country, Cranston has a very adequately educated community (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). Of its residents, 25 years and older, 83.3% had graduated and received a high school diploma, compared to the country's rate of 84%. Of residents, 25 years and older, 29.1% have received a bachelor's degree or higher (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006).
Cranston is one of Rhode Island's more dangerous cities in terms of crime. In 2006, of cities with at least 5,000 people, Cranston had the 7th highest number of violent crimes in the state, with 158 (IDCide, 2006). The property crime rate in Cranston is the 3rd highest in the state, with 2,317 property crimes (IDCide, 2006). According to the SALT report's "Safe and Supportive Schools: Students' Point of View," 23% of students said they were robbed at least once while at school and 9% had someone try to sell them drugs at least once at school (National Center on Public Education and Social Policy, 2006-2007).
Bain's community seems to be very involved in its schools. 40% of parents participated in SALT's "Engaging Families and Communities" survey (NCPESP, 2006-2007). Nearly 85% of parents believed that their communities supports Bain Middle School. As a result of this support, only 55% of parents feel that their involvement in school governance is vital (NCPESP, 2006-2007). Nearly 81% of teachers feel that members of their team maintain "positive relationships with students' parents" and nearly 85% believe that "two-way communication between home and school is essential to effective education." However, only 50% of parents felt that teachers responded timely to their requests to meet (NCPESP, 2006-2007).
District Summary
The district of Cranston contains 10,527 students, grades pre-school to 12th grade (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006).The entire district has a very diverse community background; 77% of students are white; 12% are Hispanic; 7% are Asian; and 4% are African-American, which is a pretty accurate depiction of the city as a whole (NCPESP, 2006-2007). Five percent of the district's students receive English as a Second Language assistance (NCPESP, 2006-2007). Twelve percent of the district's population receives special education services, while another 6% are located in self-contained classrooms (NCPESP, 2006-2007).The district spends a total of $130,808,502 on education in 2006. $87.5 million came from local government, totaling nearly 67% of the entire money spent, while $35.7 million came from the state (27%) and $8.2 million was federally funded money (6%). The districts spends approximately $12,426 per student in the district, which is slightly below the state average of $12,700. Of this $12,426, $7,698 is spent on student instruction; $1,795 is spent on student support; $2,135 is spent on student operations, and $798 is spent on student leadership programs. Cranston spends more money on general education programs ($9,347) to support 10,527 students, than the state's average of $9,220. Cranston spends far less money than the state in regards to Title 1, $536 for the state of Rhode Island compared to only $172 for the district of Cranston. It also spends less money on special education ($15,400) in comparison to the state's average ($16,382), despite the fact that the district serves a disproportionately high number of special education students at 1,913 students. Less money is also spent in career and technical education for the district ($3,924), in comparison to the state's average ($4,249). The district does however, spend more money on English Language Learners, $11,250, compared to the state's average of $7,931. Cranston has an above average teacher to student ratio of 1:9 compared to the state's average of 1:10 because the city employs 1,083, a high number compared to other districts in the state.
The district also offers many sports, intramurals and clubs, including baseball, basketball, bowling, cheerleading, cross-country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball and wrestling (Activity Advisers, 2006-2007). Bain Middle School, however, does not offer bowling, golf, swimming, football, tennis or volleyball (Bain Middle School, 2008).
School Analysis
Hugh B. Bain Middle School was founded in 1930, originally as a junior high school, enrolling seventh, eighth and ninth graders. It was the first junior high school in the city of Cranston (DiPrete, et. al, 2001). In 1995, the school district adopted the middle school model and began enrolling sixth graders and moved ninth graders, primarily to Cranston High School East (DiPrete, et. al, 2001). Located on Gansett Avenue in Cranston, Bain is one of three middle schools currently in the district, the other two being Western Hills Middle School and Park View Middle School (DiPrete, et. al, 2001). The district is suffering severely from poor allocation of funds and the students are going to be taking the brunt of this soon. Due to funding problems in a district that lost nearly $7 million in one fiscal year, sixth graders were removed from Bain and now the school currently serves seventh and eighth graders only. The 2001 SALT survey of Bain Middle School painted a very accurate depiction of the school's daily life, "There are many noteworthy activities in place at the school for both students and the community. They are listed in the school's 'Programs of Distinction' booklet. Several of these include The Bain Center and 21st Century Community Learning, Project Respect, the Enrichment Program, Bain Student Planning Center, Homework Club, and Channel 88 broadcasting. Students are also involved in varsity sports and after school intramurals. Bain has the largest intramural program in the city of Cranston (DiPrete, et. al, 2001). Bain currently has 701 students enrolled and 77 employed faculty members (NCPESP, 2007-2008).According to the most recent NECAP testing, Bain Middle School is considered a "high performing" school because it met all 27 of its No Child Left Behind markers (2007-2008). The school excelled greatly in the English Language Arts section of the test, especially within the Hispanic community and students who are considered "economically disadvantaged" (NCPESP, 2007-2008). The school had a 99.9% participation rate in the Mathematics section of the test and a 99.6% participation rate in the English Language Arts section, well above the necessary 95% threshold (NCPESP, 2007-2008). Bain also well surpassed the 90% mandatory attendance rate with an impressive 93.3% attendance rate (NCPESP, 2006-2007). In the 2006-2007 testing, Bain had been considered a "high performing with caution" because they had missed one marker in a math sub-category (NCPESP, 2006-2007). Bain's principal Thomas Barbieri made this a focal point for students and teachers and his goal has since been to have the school receive a Regents' Commendation for its vast improvement.
According to the most recent RIDE report, Bain's 8th graders are equally or more proficient in all areas of testing: math, reading, and writing, in comparison to the rest of the state. Nearly 35% of 8th graders are proficient in math, 60% are proficient in reading and 45% are proficient in writing (NCPESP, 2007-2008). The attendance rate at Bain is 93%, just slightly below the state's average of 94% and time spent out of school, 7% is also just slightly above the state's average for middle schools, 6% (NCPESP, 2007-2008).
SALT performs surveys that include questions for both teachers and parents. But, they also survey students because, in reality, there responses are the most important. The survey consists of 9 markers and are rated on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. Students at Bain rate the school's overall climate as a 3.5 and rate teacher support at 3.5 (SALT, 2008). Students rate the clarity of rules and discipline as a 4.3 and believe they show commitment in their work to be a respectable 3.7 (SALT, 2008). Positive student relationships taking place were rated a 3.8 and negative student relationships were rated a 2.8 (SALT, 2008). Discipline is valued greatly at Bain and was rated by students as a 3.6, while teacher innovation and creativity was given a 3.3 (SALT, 2008). The overall general quality of the school was rated a 3.2 by students, which considering its urban community and background is very respectable (SALT, 2008).
Conclusion
For URI student teachers or recently graduated students who are looking to become new teachers in Rhode Island, these context reports should be excellent tools for determining the atmosphere of the school's they are considering working at. Hugh B. Bain Middle School is a school that, despite the lack of funding, has continually increased in the eyes of the No Child Left Behind program and has reached "high performing" status. Principal Barbieri's goal for Bain Middle School was to become a "high performing" school and achieve Regents' Commendation; thus far, they are half way there. According to findings of the 2001 SALT report, "Over the last several years a sense of instability and unease has come with changes of the administration of Bain School. The present administrative team has set a new tone for the school. This team works with teacher leaders to improve school climate, instructional practices, and student discipline and participation. The new principal encourages the faculty to have a sharp focus on teaching and learning (DiPrete, et. al, 2001). This report hopefully does an accurate job of portraying this same sentiment.References
Information Works. (2006). Equity and Adequacy of Resources: Program Expenditures. Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://www.infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2008/pdf/ds-insite-pie/07d-expp.pdf.
School Accountability for Learning and Teaching. (2007). Hugh B. Bain Middle School Student Reports of Perceived School Climate, Page 1 of 2. Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://schnet.ncpe.uri.edu/data/800/25142/08/st-m-hg-08.PDF.
School Accountability for Learning and Teaching. (2007). Hugh B. Bain Middle School Student Reports of Perceived School Climate, Page 2 of 2. Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://schnet.ncpe.uri.edu/data/800/25142/08/st-m-hg-09.PDF.
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School Accountability for Learning and Teaching. (2007). Hugh B. Bain Middle School Student Reports of Perceived School Climate, Page 1 of 2. Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://schnet.ncpe.uri.edu/data/800/25142/08/st-m-hg-08.PDF.
School Accountability for Learning and Teaching. (2007). Hugh B. Bain Middle School Student Reports of Perceived School Climate, Page 2 of 2. Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://schnet.ncpe.uri.edu/data/800/25142/08/st-m-hg-09.PDF.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2006). Cranston city, Rhode Island - ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates: 2006. Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=16000US4419180&-qr_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_DP5&-ds_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-_sse=on.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2006). Cranston city, Rhode Island - Selected Economic Characteristics: 2006. Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=16000US4419180&-qr_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_DP3&-ds_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-_sse=on.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2006). Cranston city, Rhode Island - Selected Social Characteristics in the United States: 2006. Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=16000US4419180&-qr_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_DP2&-ds_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_&-_lang=en&-_sse=on.''
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